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White House fires Copyright Office leaders as controversial AI report surfaces

Mashable

The report's findings are advisory, but they could be influential in upcoming court cases on the subject. In firing Dr. Hayden, The White House cited the Library's DEI initiatives. Cornell H. Winston, the President of the American Association of Law Libraries, issued a statement to AALL members on Monday saying he was "deeply concerned" by the firings of Perlmutter and Dr. Hayden, though this letter did not mention the AI report specifically. President Trump has pledged to take a business-friendly approach to artificial intelligence, and he issued two executive orders in April to promote the United States' leadership in the AI industry. Rather than waiting to release a final version of the report and promoting its release, the office instead quietly released a "pre-publication version" of the report on Friday.


Meet LegoGPT, an AI model that creates custom Lego sets

Mashable

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have unveiled something delightfully geeky: LegoGPT, an AI model that builds Lego structures straight from text prompts. The study, published last Thursday, explains the mechanics in depth. Armed with a massive dataset of Lego builds constructed by the team with captions, the researchers trained a model similar to ChatGPT -- but instead of guessing the next word, it predicts the next brick. Our autoregressive model generates physically stable and buildable designs from text prompts by integrating physics laws and assembly constraints into LLM training and inference. It's not the first foray into autonomous Lego construction, but the researchers say LegoGPT stands out by generating step-by-step blueprints designed to keep your builds structurally sound.


The universe may die sooner than expected

Popular Science

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Nothing is permanent--not even the universe itself. At least, that's what current models of physics tell us about the nature of existence. Luckily for humanity, most astrophysicists' estimates don't have the universe's grand finale scheduled for around 10ยนยนโฐโฐ years (that's a 1 followed by 1,100 zeros). However, based on new calculations that include the peculiar nature of certain black hole particles, the universe's curtains may fall much sooner than expected--cosmically speaking.


Get the no-frills Eufy 11S Max robot vacuum while its 43% off

Mashable

SAVE 120: As of May 12, the Eufy 11S Max robot vacuum is on sale for 159.99, down from the usual 279.99. There are literally hundreds of fancy robot vacuums to choose from these days. And we've tested a ton of them. But not everyone is looking for the latest and greatest tech that'll cost you upwards of 1,600. Sometimes you just want something that'll get the job done without breaking the bank.


Microsoft is now squeezing Copilot AI into its app store

PCWorld

If you're a keen-eyed reader, you may recently have spotted the Copilot AI assistant in the Microsoft Store. According to Windows Latest, Microsoft has begun testing the AI chatbot's appearance on product pages for apps and games in the form of a Copilot button. When you click on the button, you'll see a panel where Copilot offers suggested queries for the product in question. For example, you can select queries like "Tell me more about this game," "How has this game been received online?" and "Does this game have multiplayer?" If you select any of the queries, you'll be taken to a full-scale Copilot chat with an answer to your chosen query plus the ability to type your own questions and commands for the AI assistant.


Grab the Dreame L40 Ultra Robot Vacuum for a dreamy 1,000 off

Mashable

SAVE 1,000: As of May 12, the Dreame L40 Ultra Robot Vacuum is on sale at Amazon for 499.99, down from 1,499.99, saving you 67%. If you're in search of a new lease on cleanliness, this high-tech robot vacuum deal is here for you. The Dreame L40 Ultra has a cleaning toolkit that includes a mop, side brush, and automatic self-cleaning -- and it can be yours at a serious discount today. As of May 12, the Dreame L40 Ultra Robot Vacuum is on sale for a whopping 1,000 off at Amazon. Get it for just 499.99, down from 1,499.99, and save 67%.


My first day with Unitrees Go2 Pro robot dog

Mashable

During our first day with the Unitree Go2 Pro Robot Dog, we put its AI to the test. We challenged its object avoidance with an obstacle course, checked its balance on stairs and rocky terrain, and brought it to a dog park to see how it would interact with real dogs. What the Future is your futurism destination, brought to you by the CNET Group. It delivers expert insight and front-row seats to the most innovative, futuristic and cutting-edge technology. From humanoid robots to fantastical flying machines, if it makes sci-fi feel less like fiction, you're likely to find it on What the Future


Trump visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE: What to know

Al Jazeera

United States President Donald Trump will undertake a three-day tour of the Gulf for his first state visit since retaking office in January. The trip begins in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It marks Trump's second foreign visit as president after he attended Pope Francis's funeral in Rome in April. Trump will fly out of the US on Monday and start his trip in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday. He is expected to attend a Gulf summit in the city on Wednesday, visit Qatar later that day and conclude his visit in the UAE on Thursday.


100 leading AI scientists map route to more 'trustworthy, reliable, secure' AI

ZDNet

The debate over the risks and harms of artificial intelligence often focuses on what governments can or should do. However, just as important are the choices that AI researchers themselves make. This week, in Singapore, more than 100 scientists from around the world proposed guidelines for how researchers should approach making AI more "trustworthy, reliable, and secure." The recommendations come at a time when the giants of generative AI, such as OpenAI and Google, have increasingly reduced disclosures about their AI models, so the public knows less and less about how the work is conducted. The guidelines grew out of an exchange among the scholars last month in Singapore, in conjunction with one of the most prestigious conferences on AI, the International Conference on Learning Representations -- the first time a major AI conference has taken place in Asia.


9 settings to change on your Mac

Popular Science

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. You've unwrapped your new Mac desktop or laptop and you're ready to dive in: Where should you start? Modern-day macOS is designed to be intuitive and straightforward, but it's also stuffed with options and features you can tweak to fit your needs. Here we'll look at some of the fundamental settings that you should change first, to ensure you're getting the best possible experience. All of these options can be found by opening the Apple menu in the top left corner of the macOS interface, then choosing System Settings.